Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jul 2011 Source: Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO) Copyright: 2011 The Fort Collins Coloradoan Contact: http://www.coloradoan.com/customerservice/contactus.html Website: http://www.coloradoan.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1580 Author: David Schwaab Note: David Schwaab is a married father of two children. He retired from Hewlett Packard in Fort Collins and is co-owner of Abundant Healing. POT SHOPS KEEP COMMUNITY SAFER There have been numerous articles and editorial comments relating the petition drive that is currently under way to ban medical marijuana centers in Fort Collins. It concerns me greatly that the information being presented to the Fort Collins community is void of truth, and in many cases, filled with inaccurate assumptions about correlations between licensed medical marijuana centers, violent crime and illegal drug use among our city's youths. None of the comments are citing facts to back up their claims. And the petition that is being circulated will do nothing to improve our community's safety, enforce controls or regulations or eliminate the sale of medical marijuana. So, what is the real reason behind the work to ban medical marijuana centers in Fort Collins? If those behind this campaign truly understand the potential consequences of their efforts, they would not be touting a message of doing it for the good of the community. This ban will be a major detriment and set us back instead of moving us forward. The petition would not ban medical marijuana. Instead, it would shut down licensed medical marijuana businesses that are regulated, secure and taxed, but leave open basement-growing operations that are unregulated, unsecured and untaxed. Unlicensed providers will still legally sell medical marijuana from their homes, increasing the risk of illegal sales, fires and home invasions. And when marijuana becomes a neighborhood problem, our community is exposed to serious risk. It doesn't make sense that anyone would want to take medical marijuana out of highly regulated, highly controlled, commercial areas and propose a law to allow it to go back into neighborhoods and be brokered without being monitored, unless the only desire is to turn a blind eye and try to hide the fact that it exists entirely. Allowing medical marijuana to only be grown privately by in-home caregivers, opens up a huge door to potential crime and takes it right back to the neighborhoods that our citizens want to protect. When people know where marijuana is grown and sold privately - without cameras and security to prevent theft and illegal activity - the temptation to steal and commit violent crime greatly increases. Why would we want that for Fort Collins? Why would we want to expose our neighborhoods to this type of risk? I am the first to agree that the flashing neon signs with marijuana leaves that dot our street corners does not make Fort Collins look like the Choice City that is strives to be. However, there are ways to manage the promotion and marketing of the sale of medical marijuana without banning the centers that are the only commercially regulated locations for legal distribution. I don't want marijuana tucked back away behind closed doors, sold in parks and alleyways; grown in basements and brokered in someone's living room. I believe in controls and regulations. Marijuana existed in Fort Collins before the 2009 legislation and it will not go away with a ban such as this. It will only turn the sale and distribution into a dirty, backdoor business. If those behind the petition to ban medical marijuana centers truly cared about us and our safety, they would be taking a different approach. Help keep medical marijuana sales regulated, secure and taxed by opposing this petition. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.